Chapter 9 - The Brother Who Became the EnemyThe attack on the Hudson estate left four guards injured and two attackers dead.
Isabella survived with a broken wrist and smoke inhalation.
Lorenzo escaped with Elena through a service entrance.
But the revelation followed them.
Matteo.
The brother Lorenzo had mourned for nine years.
The man whose death had shaped his entire life.
According to Isabella, he was the person behind Black Crown.
Lorenzo refused to believe it.
“She lied,” he said.
Elena sat across from him in the estate's library.
“Maybe.”
“She admitted hiding him. She admitted helping my father. Why should I believe anything else?”
“Because she had no reason to protect him at that moment.”
Lorenzo looked away.
Elena continued.
“We need proof.”
He nodded reluctantly.
That night, Dante regained consciousness.
Lorenzo visited him immediately.
The wounded man struggled to speak.
“Enzo…”
“Save your strength.”
Dante shook his head.
“No. You need to know.”
Lorenzo leaned closer.
“The cottage. Robert Vance. I thought he was feeding me information about the Krasnikis.”
“What changed?”
“He started asking about your brother.”
Lorenzo went still.
“What did he ask?”
“Whether Matteo was really dead.”
“And?”
“I told him yes.”
Dante swallowed.
“Then he laughed.”
Lorenzo felt cold.
“Why?”
“He said Matteo had been giving orders for years.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Did my father work for him?”
Dante looked at her.
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes.
Dante continued.
“Robert wanted out. He said Matteo had changed. That he wasn't trying to expose Black Crown anymore.”
“What was he doing?” Lorenzo asked.
“Taking it over.”
The words landed heavily.
Dante gripped Lorenzo's arm.
“I bought the cottage because Robert promised to identify the people targeting you. I thought I could control him.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
Dante's eyes filled with shame.
“And Elena paid for my mistake.”
Lorenzo remained silent.
Dante looked at Elena.
“I'm sorry.”
She studied him.
For the first time, she believed him.
But forgiveness would take longer.
The following morning, Susan Bell delivered the recovered notebook.
It had been hidden in a secure archive for years.
The pages contained dates, names, account numbers, and coded transactions.
Lorenzo's financial investigator began matching them against old company records.
Within hours, a pattern emerged.
Black Crown had funded medical facilities, private prisons, and offshore accounts.
Several payments had been authorized by Salvatore Moretti.
Others by Isabella.
But the most recent transactions carried a different authorization.
M.M.
Matteo Moretti.
The records were genuine.
And devastating.
Lorenzo stared at the documents.
“My brother.”
Elena sat beside him.
“I'm sorry.”
He shook his head.
“I spent nine years believing he was dead.”
“And now?”
Lorenzo looked at the ledger.
“Now I don't know who he is.”
That evening, Robert Vance finally contacted Elena again.
He demanded a meeting.
Alone.
She refused.
He sent a photograph.
Rachel Vance.
Sitting beside a window.
Alive.
Elena nearly dropped the phone.
Below the image was a message.
If you want your mother back, come to Pier 17 at midnight. No Moretti.
Lorenzo insisted it was a trap.
Elena knew he was right.
But she also knew she couldn't ignore the photograph.
They devised a plan.
Lorenzo would remain nearby with a small security team.
Elena would approach the meeting point wearing a concealed microphone.
At 11:58 p.m., she stepped onto the deserted pier.
The river was black beneath the city lights.
A man emerged from behind a parked truck.
Robert Vance.
Her father.
He looked older.
But the cruelty in his face was familiar.
“Elena.”
She stopped several feet away.
“Where is Mom?”
Robert smiled sadly.
“Straight to business.”
“Where is she?”
He sighed.
“You always were stubborn.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Show me she's alive.”
Robert reached into his coat.
Lorenzo's voice came through her earpiece.
“Careful.”
Robert withdrew a phone.
He played a short video.
Rachel Vance sat in a small room.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Elena, if you see this, please don't come looking for me.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Mom…”
The video ended.
Robert lowered the phone.
“She's alive.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Safe from whom?”
Robert's expression changed.
“From the man who destroyed our family.”
“Matteo Moretti?”
Robert stared.
Then laughed bitterly.
“So you've figured it out.”
Elena felt sick.
“Why did he want Lorenzo killed?”
“Because Lorenzo controls something Matteo needs.”
“What?”
“The Moretti trust. A financial structure their father created. Matteo can't access it while Lorenzo is alive.”
Elena stared at him.
“So he arranged the shooting?”
Robert nodded.
“And he expected you to die with him.”
Her breath caught.
“Why?”
“Because you are Rachel's daughter. And Rachel has the original records proving what he did.”
Elena took a step backward.
Robert reached toward her.
“Come with me. I'll take you to her.”
“No.”
“Elena—”
“You hurt me my entire childhood. You let me believe she was dead.”
Robert's face hardened.
“I did what I had to do.”
“You always say that.”
She turned away.
Robert grabbed her arm.
Lorenzo emerged from the shadows.
“Let her go.”
Robert froze.
Several guards moved into position.
Lorenzo approached.
“Where is Matteo?”
Robert slowly released Elena.
Then smiled.
“You really don't know?”
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
“Tell me.”
Robert looked past him.
Toward the water.
“He's been closer than you think.”
A familiar voice spoke from behind Lorenzo.
“Hello, brother.”
Lorenzo turned.
A man stepped from the darkness.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
With the same blue eyes.
Matteo Moretti.
May you like
Alive.
And holding a gun.
